Sri Lankan Music in Sigiri Graffiti

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to identify the evidence of music in Sri Lanka that has been encrypted in Sigiri Graffiti. The graffiti on the mirror-wall in Sigiriya Rock belongs to a period ranging from 8th- 10th centuries CE, and with no doubts, they are an extant example of the social and cultural background of the period. Evidently, they were the visitors to the royal kingdom of King Kasyapa (477-495 CE) from different parts of the country, and they belonged to various strata of the contemporary society in Sri Lanka. Therefore, it can be assumed that the graffiti on the rock wall represents not only the thoughts and ideas they had of the figurines on the wall, but the melodic patterns and rhythms that regional community practiced on particular occasions. Thus, Sigiri Graffiti can be recognized as a cluster of such musical components of the contemporary society in Sri Lanka that may necessarily witness to the elements of authentic Sri Lankan music and provide a glimpse into the music of Sri Lankan people during a period immemorial. The unique characteristic of this music and the rhythms is the non-influential behavior from its neighbor: India, as it has always been come under discussion when it comes to Sri Lankan music. The samples and examples for the present study were selected from the Sigiri Graffiti, and from the texts written on the subject. The evidence and elements of the contemporary Sri Lankan music were obtained from the primary sources i.e. Mahavamsa, Culavansa and other texts, scholarly studies, and an examination of archeological information. The analysis proved that the lyrics and the rhythms embedded in Sigiri Graffiti are homogeneous to Sri Lankan society and the instrumenting, singing, impression of songs and dance etc. and also the prosody; the number of syllabic instants provides significance of music in Sri Lanka.